Aiur Chef

Players

Size

Contents

A zealot (controlled by a player) travels around Aiur collecting ingredients (fruit models) and returning them to the kitchen stadium to cook. The players can also fight with each other, using weapons such as psi frying pans. The player with the most points over three rounds wins. It is hosted by Chairman Khala, who announces the secret ingredient required at the start of each round.[2]

The map is quite small compared to most other multiplayer maps. The center of the map consists of the Aiur equivalent of Kitchen Stadium, a raised section decorated with elaborate protoss structures with four ramps allowing access from the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast. Two multiple-resource rich areas exist, mirrored across the map from each other. Such resource-gathering areas include farms, refineries, water and waterfront beaches, hives, and protoss encampments. Each of the many ingredients in Aiur Chef can be found in one of these sections, however, not all ingredients are as plentiful and easy to locate as others. The unit models are unique and were inserted into the editor externally.[2]

Each chef is controlled through the standard move and attack commands. The recipe list in the upper-left of the player's screen contains three recipes, each with a different point value and each utilizes the secret ingredient in combination with other more plentiful ingredients. By hovering the cursor over the ingredients on the recipe list, a small description will pop up, giving brief advice to the player in regards to the location of the ingredient or the creature that must be killed to obtain it. Each recipe will require anywhere from four to six ingredients, of at least three different types of ingredients. To grab an ingredient on the ground, simply have the chef walk over it. If the chef is already carrying six ingredients, an attempt to carry more will be ignored. To remove an ingredient from his collection, the player must right-click the particular item box, and your cursor will have a small icon next to it designating the item you chose. Then left-click a spot close to your chef, and it will be dropped. Selecting a location too far from your chef will cancel the drop, and may cause the player to lose precious time if it happens too often.[2]

In order to obtain certain ingredients, a type of creature may have to be killed for the ingredients to appear. A simple attack is all that is required for most quarry. Some creatures are docile and won't become aggressive, even after being attacked. However, others are not as passive, such as some of the zerg units, and will pursue the chef as soon as they see him. Caution must be taken when facing some of ingredient-holding creatures; some are very powerful, and even the weaker targets may re-spawn quickly and overwhelm your chef.[2]

Once all of the ingredients necessary to complete a recipe have been acquired, the player must send their chef back to the center stadium to cook their dish. Upon reaching the center beacon, a circular button appears next to the recipe list. Clicking on the button will allow the chef to cook, removing the ingredients from your collection, awarding the player the points for that particular dish, and giving your chef a potential power-up or special ability. After cooking the dish, the player sends the chef out again, to cook as much as possible before the end of the round.[2]

Once a player realizes the locations to find certain ingredients, it may be tempting to repeat the same dish several times. However, the player would do well to notice that repeatedly preparing the same recipe multiple times will reduce the amount of points awarded each time, and may not yield any power-ups or special abilities.[2]

The default awards for cooking recipes vary in value. Through observation, it would appear as if the special abilities and power-ups are awarded for cooking dishes that don't provide the highest amount of points. Each ability or power-up will take up a space on the player's six space collection. One ability allows for a temporary boost in your chef's movement, while another forces your opponents to stop and uncontrollably dance in place for a few seconds. The protoss chefs do not have the ability to attack each other, but using anything other than the special abilities would prove to be more of a detriment to the offensive player, since pursuing your opponents for a fight wastes valuable time. If a player's chef were to be killed, regardless of the cause, the player will be re-spawned back at the center stadium.[2]

At the end of the three rounds, Chairman Khala announces the winner based on the highest cumulative score obtained, declaring them to be the next Aiur Chef.[2]

Multiple winners may be selected (multiple people may have the same score).

Above the standard user interface options is a set of six boxes arranged horizontally, which represents the player's current collection of ingredients and special items; it’s important to note that the player's inventory can only hold six items at any given time. There are a few abilities that the zealot chef can learn by completing certain recipes:[3]